As usual, Harper was in the machine shop working on his X-1, when,
suddenly, he was in the white room, .
"Aw man.. not again!" he groaned as he figured out where he was.
"Greetings"
"Your welcome" Harper said annoyed. "Look, I did you guys a big favor and do I get any thanks, No! You come see me months later, only when you want something else."
"We want you to build something." Trance/prophet#1 said.
"Why?"
"It is a part of a puzzle" prophet#2/Dylan replied. All the various prophets would take turns appearing and talking to him.
"Look, I am not going to do any more favors for you guys! I only did this one favor cause I wanted it as well. Why in the hell would I wanna build something for you ungrateful jerks?" Harper was starting to get a little mad at the nebula aliens.
"It is needed for counterbalance" prophet #3/Beka said.
"That explains everything." he answered sarcastically.
"The Harper lacks faith" prophet#4/Tyr.
"The Harper is sick and tired of you guys asking him to do favors" he replied."Look, go find yourself another messenger to do your dirty work."
Suddenly, Harper found himself having a vision of the device, it was surrounded by mystery and power. Also, he got visions of what he needed to do to make it. Then he was back at the white room.
"Okay, so the machine seem impressive, but still..I'm no one's slave!"
"The Harper is not our slave"
"Glad we agree on something" he answered with a sigh.
The Harper needs to help us" prophet #1/Trance.
"Well, frankly, you can just kiss the Harper's kludge ass"
"The Harper likes to build?"
"Yeah"
"Does not the Harper want a chance to test and challenge his abilities"
"Yeah I guess"
"We are giving the Harper this chance, and in exchange we will have something needed"
"I see. You want me to think of this as a challenge, that I can aspire to."
"The Harper will get time to think about it" prophet #1/Trance replied.
And so, Harper was back at his machine shop, for now, but only five minutes passed, when again, he was in the white room.
"Hey, I thought that you would give me some more time!"
"Time is irrelevant" prophet #2/Beka replied.
"That's easy for you to say, you're not corporeal!" Harper answered.
"What has the Harper decided?"
"Well, the device does look cool, and you are going to help me right?"
"The Harper will get guidance" prophet #3/Dylan said.
"Anyway, I figure that the device is cool enough, and won't cause the end of the universe as we know it. And because I'm a nice guy, I'll build it for ya, but only because I like to build stuff."
"The Harper has made a wise choice"
"Your welcome"
Suddenly, Harper got visions on how he could get started using what he had on the Andromeda, and was back at the machine shop. Then, he got to work.
He worked all through the evening, night, and morning, until his shift, which he was late for because he had to go get coffee.
As he came to the command deck, Beka looked at him funny.
"You were up all night, weren't you?" she was used to his staying up nights in order to work on something or other.
"Yeah. The nebula aliens want me to build them a device, and so I got started."
"What kind of device"
"Well, I'm only getting some information at a time. Like I got visions of how it looked like and how to get started"
"OOOH kaaay" Beka was getting all weirded out by these visions of Harper's.
"I know it sounds weird, but I'm only doing it, cause the device looks cool, and it's fun to build stuff."
"I see." Beka gave him a funny look.
"What?"
"Nothing"
One month passed and Harper was living on three hours a night of sleep, if any, as he had to balance duties and the device. He was making some progress, but not alot, as he often had to remove or rehaul stuff more often than not. It began to take a toll on him, as he was starting to get a bit obsessed with it.
One day, he was at the command deck, doing some tests, when Dylan came to do his shift.
"Mr. Harper, you look like hell" he said, rather worried. Harper had deep circles around his eyes, his hair was uncombed, and he looked rather pale.
"I'm fine..." he interupted himself with his coughing.
"Are you sick?"
"No." He coughed again.
Suddenly, holo-Andromeda appeared.
"Dylan, some conduits on deck 33 blew out"
"What?"
"They were supposed to have gotten followup maintence after they were fixed, but Harper had not gotten to it"
Dylan just sighed and looked at him.
"What? Look, I do the best I can."
"That's the third problem, today alone, Harper, that has resulted from your neglect." Dylan remarked.
"I'm not neglecting my work!"
"You have been for the last week" HoloAndromeda replied. She was right, as this week, the nebula aliens had given him more information through visions than ever on the device this week and he was able to make progress, faster as a result.
"Sorry, I'll try to improve"
"See that you do" Dylan said simply.
So, Harper made a big effort to not neglect his work, resulting in the progress of the device being slowed down.
One day, three weeks later, on the command deck, as Dylan was talking to some dignatary, Harper, took a visit to a very familar place: The white room.
"The Harper is slow in his progress"
"Look, I'm not just some guy, who has nothing else to do. I've got responsibilities."
"The Harper will get new information."
"Great!" Suddenly, Harper got visions of what he needed to do next, when, before he knew it, he was back on the command deck.
"Harper?" Rommie said gently.
"Yeah?"
"Is he all right?" the Dignitary, in the front viewscreen, asked.
"Don't worry about him, he's on medication that somehow causes some unexpected side effects" Dylan said apologetically.
Then, Harper left, the command deck without a word, to work on the project.
"Why is he leaving?" the dignitary asked
"He has to work on some rountine maintenence right away" Dylan answered.
"I see" the man seemed a bit offended, but not too much.
Three hours later, Harper was still engulfed on the device, when he felt a tap on the shoulder. It was Dylan.
"Mr. Harper!"
"Huh?" Harper asked, as he saw Dylan glare.
"What the hell happened? First you blank out, then you leave the command deck, without a word, practically offending our guest."
"Sorry, I just had some inspiration for the device, and since I'm not useful at diplomatic stuff..."
"Your duty to the mission comes first."
"I know, I know. It's just that I got some visions, from the nebula aliens on what to do next, and I didn't wanna forget. Sorry, it won't happen again."
Dylan just sighed, and kept his glare on.
"This is the third time you've done this."
"Done what?"
"Blank out and then leave when we had a guest"
"Look, I can't control when these aliens talk to me, okay?"
"I talked to someone of the relgion that worships these aliens. He says that your experiance of visions is rare, but not unheard of."
"I see"
"Look, Harper, just try to remember what the mission is okay? I understand how much this device means to you, but do not let it interfere with your duty to the Commonwealth." Dylan was trying very hard to be patient.
"Okay."
"Good. I'll leave you to your work."
TBC
"Aw man.. not again!" he groaned as he figured out where he was.
"Greetings"
"Your welcome" Harper said annoyed. "Look, I did you guys a big favor and do I get any thanks, No! You come see me months later, only when you want something else."
"We want you to build something." Trance/prophet#1 said.
"Why?"
"It is a part of a puzzle" prophet#2/Dylan replied. All the various prophets would take turns appearing and talking to him.
"Look, I am not going to do any more favors for you guys! I only did this one favor cause I wanted it as well. Why in the hell would I wanna build something for you ungrateful jerks?" Harper was starting to get a little mad at the nebula aliens.
"It is needed for counterbalance" prophet #3/Beka said.
"That explains everything." he answered sarcastically.
"The Harper lacks faith" prophet#4/Tyr.
"The Harper is sick and tired of you guys asking him to do favors" he replied."Look, go find yourself another messenger to do your dirty work."
Suddenly, Harper found himself having a vision of the device, it was surrounded by mystery and power. Also, he got visions of what he needed to do to make it. Then he was back at the white room.
"Okay, so the machine seem impressive, but still..I'm no one's slave!"
"The Harper is not our slave"
"Glad we agree on something" he answered with a sigh.
The Harper needs to help us" prophet #1/Trance.
"Well, frankly, you can just kiss the Harper's kludge ass"
"The Harper likes to build?"
"Yeah"
"Does not the Harper want a chance to test and challenge his abilities"
"Yeah I guess"
"We are giving the Harper this chance, and in exchange we will have something needed"
"I see. You want me to think of this as a challenge, that I can aspire to."
"The Harper will get time to think about it" prophet #1/Trance replied.
And so, Harper was back at his machine shop, for now, but only five minutes passed, when again, he was in the white room.
"Hey, I thought that you would give me some more time!"
"Time is irrelevant" prophet #2/Beka replied.
"That's easy for you to say, you're not corporeal!" Harper answered.
"What has the Harper decided?"
"Well, the device does look cool, and you are going to help me right?"
"The Harper will get guidance" prophet #3/Dylan said.
"Anyway, I figure that the device is cool enough, and won't cause the end of the universe as we know it. And because I'm a nice guy, I'll build it for ya, but only because I like to build stuff."
"The Harper has made a wise choice"
"Your welcome"
Suddenly, Harper got visions on how he could get started using what he had on the Andromeda, and was back at the machine shop. Then, he got to work.
He worked all through the evening, night, and morning, until his shift, which he was late for because he had to go get coffee.
As he came to the command deck, Beka looked at him funny.
"You were up all night, weren't you?" she was used to his staying up nights in order to work on something or other.
"Yeah. The nebula aliens want me to build them a device, and so I got started."
"What kind of device"
"Well, I'm only getting some information at a time. Like I got visions of how it looked like and how to get started"
"OOOH kaaay" Beka was getting all weirded out by these visions of Harper's.
"I know it sounds weird, but I'm only doing it, cause the device looks cool, and it's fun to build stuff."
"I see." Beka gave him a funny look.
"What?"
"Nothing"
One month passed and Harper was living on three hours a night of sleep, if any, as he had to balance duties and the device. He was making some progress, but not alot, as he often had to remove or rehaul stuff more often than not. It began to take a toll on him, as he was starting to get a bit obsessed with it.
One day, he was at the command deck, doing some tests, when Dylan came to do his shift.
"Mr. Harper, you look like hell" he said, rather worried. Harper had deep circles around his eyes, his hair was uncombed, and he looked rather pale.
"I'm fine..." he interupted himself with his coughing.
"Are you sick?"
"No." He coughed again.
Suddenly, holo-Andromeda appeared.
"Dylan, some conduits on deck 33 blew out"
"What?"
"They were supposed to have gotten followup maintence after they were fixed, but Harper had not gotten to it"
Dylan just sighed and looked at him.
"What? Look, I do the best I can."
"That's the third problem, today alone, Harper, that has resulted from your neglect." Dylan remarked.
"I'm not neglecting my work!"
"You have been for the last week" HoloAndromeda replied. She was right, as this week, the nebula aliens had given him more information through visions than ever on the device this week and he was able to make progress, faster as a result.
"Sorry, I'll try to improve"
"See that you do" Dylan said simply.
So, Harper made a big effort to not neglect his work, resulting in the progress of the device being slowed down.
One day, three weeks later, on the command deck, as Dylan was talking to some dignatary, Harper, took a visit to a very familar place: The white room.
"The Harper is slow in his progress"
"Look, I'm not just some guy, who has nothing else to do. I've got responsibilities."
"The Harper will get new information."
"Great!" Suddenly, Harper got visions of what he needed to do next, when, before he knew it, he was back on the command deck.
"Harper?" Rommie said gently.
"Yeah?"
"Is he all right?" the Dignitary, in the front viewscreen, asked.
"Don't worry about him, he's on medication that somehow causes some unexpected side effects" Dylan said apologetically.
Then, Harper left, the command deck without a word, to work on the project.
"Why is he leaving?" the dignitary asked
"He has to work on some rountine maintenence right away" Dylan answered.
"I see" the man seemed a bit offended, but not too much.
Three hours later, Harper was still engulfed on the device, when he felt a tap on the shoulder. It was Dylan.
"Mr. Harper!"
"Huh?" Harper asked, as he saw Dylan glare.
"What the hell happened? First you blank out, then you leave the command deck, without a word, practically offending our guest."
"Sorry, I just had some inspiration for the device, and since I'm not useful at diplomatic stuff..."
"Your duty to the mission comes first."
"I know, I know. It's just that I got some visions, from the nebula aliens on what to do next, and I didn't wanna forget. Sorry, it won't happen again."
Dylan just sighed, and kept his glare on.
"This is the third time you've done this."
"Done what?"
"Blank out and then leave when we had a guest"
"Look, I can't control when these aliens talk to me, okay?"
"I talked to someone of the relgion that worships these aliens. He says that your experiance of visions is rare, but not unheard of."
"I see"
"Look, Harper, just try to remember what the mission is okay? I understand how much this device means to you, but do not let it interfere with your duty to the Commonwealth." Dylan was trying very hard to be patient.
"Okay."
"Good. I'll leave you to your work."
TBC